Field of the Invention
This invention relates to appliances, such as air treatment appliances and, more particularly, to an appliance requiring a continuous intake of atmospheric air during operation thereof.
Background Art
A large number of consumer appliances are designed to continuously intake air during operation thereof. This air may be used for cooling purposes and/or treated by the particular apparatus and thereafter directed to a surrounding space.
An example of the latter appliance is one that purifies air. Air to be treated is drawn into a housing at an intake location, treated by being exposed to filter media and/or ultraviolet light, and exhausted after treatment through an outlet.
Typically, the air intake is below the air outlet. The air is forced in a vertical path through the housing. To minimize the required vertical dimension of the appliance, the intake is made as close as possible to the bottom of the housing.
Limiting housing size is particularly important with portable consumer appliances. Consumers seek designs that are functionally efficient and unobtrusive so that they can be placed at convenient locations around a home.
One highly efficient design for air treatment appliances of the above type locates the intake for air in a bottom, downwardly facing wall on the housing. Central location of this intake opening on the bottom wall causes air to be drawn in potentially around the entire perimeter of the housing, at the bottom thereof. This design permits potentially high volume air handling.
Effective operation of the above design requires that there be adequate clearance between the intake and a support surface for the appliance. Typically, supporting feet will be provided on the bottom wall to support the appliance upon a firm, upwardly facing surface so that there is adequate clearance to permit room air to flow freely to the inlet.
Often, however, users will place the appliance on a carpeted surface. Depending upon the nature of the carpet, the supporting appliance feet may depress into the carpet, thereby reducing the clearance from that for which the appliance is optimally designed. In a worse case, the intake may be substantially or fully blocked, in which event the appliance may be nonfunctional.
While instructions are normally given in operator manuals to avoid such conditions, they nonetheless are commonly created by users. Even though the placement of the appliance may account for inefficient operation, or a total failure to operate, the consumer may blame the appliance manufacturer for these problems. This reaction may have a devastating effect upon sales, particularly in an age when consumer feedback through surveys is actively solicited and such feedback is widely disseminated in hard copy form and electronically over the internet.
Heretofore, manufacturers of this type of appliance have been forced to balance the often competing objectives of providing the most efficient appliance design and making a product that is not likely to be used by consumers in a manner that will impair its operation. Designers of this type of equipment continue to seek alternative designs to address these issues.